Comparative Method
Jean Mark Gawron Linguistics San Diego State University [email protected] http://www.rohan.sdsu.edu/∼gawron February 4, 2012
1 Regularity of Sound Change
1. Most sound change begin as alterations of the sound pattern of a language in particular phonetic environments 2. Old predictable patterns change, becoming new predictable patterns 3. Sound change of this type is regular and rule governed. In general, a sound change does not affect a few words or an idiosyncratic set but systematically affects all words of the language. [Neo- grammarian hypothesis: Sound changes are exceptionless.] 4. Here phonetic environment means nearby segments, so we have focused on sequential change
Vowel Shift in the history of English (across words)
Olde English Middle English Modern English [ba:t] [bO:t] [bowt] ’boat’ [a:T] [O:T] [owT] ’oath’ [sta:n] [stO:n] [stown] ’stone’
1 2 Sound Changes
Sound Changes
Sequential change Segmental change Auditorily based change
Deaffrication Substitution
Figure 1: Basic types of sound change
Sequential Sound Changes
Weakening Assimilation Dissimilation Epenthesis Metathesis Consonant Strengthening
Glide Strengthening
Figure 2: Types of sequential sound change
2 Weakening
Vowel Weakening Consonant Weakening
Reduction Syncope Apocope Degemination Voicing Frication
Figure 3: Weakening
Assimilation
Vowel Consonant
Nasalization Umlaut Place Manner Palatalization
Affrication Frication
Figure 4: Assimilation
3 3 Examples of Sequential Change
3.1 Dissimilation
Dissimilation is one sound becoming unlike another nearby but often not adja- cent to it.
Dissimilation is rare. Early Late Gloss arbor, L arbol,S ‘tree’ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ albero, I ¯ ¯ arbre, F ¯ ¯ Figure 5: Dissimilation in Spanish and Italian but not French (L = Latin, I = Italian, F = French)
4 3.2 Epenthesis
Early Late Gloss ganra, EOE gandra, LOE ‘gander’ ¯¯ ¯¯ simle, EOE simble, LOE ‘always’ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ æmtig, EOE æmptig, LOE ‘empty’ ¯¯ ¯ ¯¯ Figure 6: Epenthesis in Old English (EOE = Earley Old English, LOE = Later Old English)
Early Late Gloss schola [sk], L escuela [esk], S ‘school’ ¯¯¯ ¯ scribere [sk], L escribir [esk], S ‘write’ ¯¯ ¯ Figure 7: Epenthesis in Romance, preserves phonotactics of Spanish, no [sk] onsets (L = Latin, S = Spanish)
5 3.3 Metathesis
Early Late Gloss wæps, EOE wæsp, LOE ‘wasp’ ¯ ¯ pridda¯ , EOE pirdda¯ , LOE ‘third’ ¯¯ ¯¯ miraculum, L milagro,I ‘miracle’ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ Figure 8: Metathesis in Old English and Romance (EOE = Earley Old English, LOE = Later Old English, L = Latin, I = Italian)
6 4 Segmental Change
Segmental change is simplification of complex segments or segment sequences; generally this means complex clusters becoming simpler clusters, or even single segments.
The example given here is deaffrication. Affricates are by definition more complex than other segments; in fact, for some purposes, they are best thought of as two segments. They are naturally subject to simplification. The process is called deaffrication. Early Late Gloss cent[ts], ME cent[s], E ‘one hundred’ ¯ ¯ gent[dZ],E gent[Z], C ‘people’ ¯ ¯ Figure 9: Deaffrication in French (OF = Old French, F = French)
Consider the English words chair , chain, chandelier, and chauffeur. Which were borowed before deaffrication occurred in French, which after?
7 5 Auditorily Based Change
Early Late Gloss [laex], ME [laef], E ‘laugh’ [TIn],E [fIn],C ‘thin’
Figure 10: Auditorily based substitution in English (ME = Middle En- glish, E = English, C = Cockney)
8 6 Comparative Reconstruction
English Dutch German Swedish Turkish man man Mann man adam hand hand Hand hand el foot voet Fuß (ß= [s]) fot ajak bring brengen bringen bringa getirmek summer zomer Sommer sommar jaz
Not hard to see which of the languages is an outlier.
Not hard to guess at the form all the others might have descended from.
*fot > foot ([fUt]), E
We call the language all the Germanic languages are descended from Proto- Germanic.
9 Germanic
East Germanic North Germanic West Germanic
(Gothic) Icelandic Norwegian Faroese Swedish Danish English German Yiddish Dutch 10 English Russian Hindi Turkish man dva d¯o /iki/ three tri t¯in /ytS/ brother brat bha¯i /kardeS/ nose nos nah¯˜i /burun/
The task: Reconstruction of ancestor languages, where they exist, even across more distant family relationships.
7 Probability of rule
Rule Name of sound change High Probability t > tS / i palatalization/affrication s > S / i palatalization/frication n > m / b assimilation (place of articulation) t > d / V V voicing (other environments possible) k > ∅ V st (other environments possible) a > ∅ / V[+stressed] C # apocope a > ∅ / V[+stressed] C C syncope a > [@] / # reduction Low Probability tS > t / i m > b / b d > t / V V ∅ > t / V st
The general idea: We consider the probability of a change together with the majority rule. When the majority rule forces us to assume a very low probability change, we overrule the majority rule.
11 8 Reconstructing Proto-Romance
Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian Gloss riba ([B]) ripa rive ([Kiv]) riba rip˘a[@] ‘embankment’ amiga ([G]) amica amie ([ami]) amiga — ‘female friend’ copa cuppa coupe ([kup]) copa kup˘a ‘cup, goblet’ gota gutta goutte ([gut]) gota gut˘a ‘drop’
Sound correspondences from the cognates for ‘embankment’
Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian B p vb p
Phonetic plausibility
High Probability p > b p > b / V V voicing p > v p > b > v / V V voicing, frication p > B p > b > B / V V voicing, frication Low Probability b > p b > p / V V devoicing B > p B > p / V V devoicing, defrication v > p v > p / V V devoicing, defrication
Reconstruction
Proto-Romance Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian *p Bp vb p
12 Sound correspondences from the cognates for ‘embankment’
Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian a a ∅ a @
Phonetic plausibility
High Probability a > @ a > @ / # apocope a > ∅ a > @ > ∅ / # voicing, frication Low Probability @ > a @ > a / # ?Vowel strengthening ∅ > a ∅ > @ > a / # Unmotivated epenthesis
Reconstruction
Proto-Romance Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian *a a a ∅ a @
Reconstruction of remaining positions from the cognates for ‘em- bankment’
Proto-Romance Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian *r r r r r r *i i i i i i
ProtoR Spanish Sardininian French Portuguese Rumanian *ripa riba ([B]) ripa rive ([Kiv]) riba rip˘a[@]
Checking our answer in Latin!
ProtoR Latin *ripa r¯ipa
Deveopment of the cognate for ‘embankment’ in French
Change *ripa Name of change p > b / V V riba voicing b > v / V V riva frication a > @ / # riv@ vowel reduction @ > ∅ / # riv apocope
13